Edmonton Oilers' new arena living up to the hype

When people from the Oilers Entertainment Group proclaim that Rogers Place will be the best arena in the world, you initially had to take it with a pretty big grain of salt.

The world is a big place and some of the venues in Europe, or oil-rich Qatar and Abu Dhabi, are pretty sweet. Even the Dallas Cowboys here in North America will argue that AT&T Stadium is as good as there is.

But after getting a look at Edmonton’s new downtown arena Sunday afternoon, the first inside glimpse as it enters the stretch drive of construction, it’s pretty clear that this place is definitely going to be in the global conversation.

And take it from someone who’s been to every rink in the NHL, most of them 10 times over — even in its far from finished state, Rogers Place is already pulling way ahead of everything else in the league.

Fans who haven’t seen anything else and never really grasped how cramped and out of date Rexall Place was are going to faint when they step inside.

“Now is the time where we are really seeing the ultimate product emerge,” said Bob Black, executive vice-president of the Edmonton Arena Corporation. “When we had the public in in January you could see the bones of the building, but now you can get a sense of the interior architecture and the beauty of it.

“You get a sense of the level of finish and the level of technology and it’s really those elements that are going to set this building apart. That is a big reason we are saying that we believe this will be the finest arena, literally, in the world.”

If it seems like Edmonton’s new rink is made up of the best parts of everyone else’s rinks, it’s because it is. The Edmonton Arena Corporation people toured every major building in North America and copied everything they loved. Then expanded on it.

“We visited over 40 different venues across North America, including every NHL facility, and we were unabashed in taking the best of everything they had,” said Oilers vice-president of communications Tim Shipton. “On the club end we took the theatre boxes from United Center in Chicago. The Loge level (private tables overlooking the ice) is red hot in Columbus, they’re the latest trend …”

The press box is from Minnesota, the adjacent practice/community rink is from Columbus, the concourse is a cross between Staples Center and Xcel Center, the Ice District is from LA Live and the 46’ x 46’ LED cube scoreboard is the largest of its kind in North America.

The interior of the under construction Rogers Place arena on Sunday May 29, 2016.David Bloom

“It’s a marvellous piece of technology,” said Black.

“It was important for us that it was in a cube shape so every fan had the opportunity to see the board in action. We saw many screens that were rectangular, so if you were sitting on the sides of the bowl you had a great view of an HD board, but if you sat on the ends you had an image that was a lot smaller.

“It also has a projection system that will allow us to turn the ice into a canvas, create entertainment opportunities that we haven’t had the opportunity to create.”

With less than 100 days until the Sept. 10 grand opening, there are as many as 1,025 workers on site every day and shifts running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The inside is taking shape, and is truly impressive. The bowl itself is going to be as stunning as it is unique, with the massive HD scoreboard and five storeys worth of club seating at one end.

“It’s not a concentric bowl, it has more a sense of those old arenas like Maple Leaf Gardens or Chicago Stadium,” said Black.

The cramped and claustrophobic concourses have been replaced by dramatically wider and brighter walkways that look out through windows at the city and the Ice District.

And there are three of them.

Instead of everyone funneling to the main concourse at Rexall because the upper concourse was too small and had too few amenities, the new place makes sure that all three levels are properly served.

“We wanted to ensure that fans didn’t have to come down to the main concourse for access to food and beverage, washrooms and retail,” said Black. “In many buildings the last seat in the upper bowl is on an end wall and that’s what they have to do. We felt it was really important to have a full upper concourse.”

There are also a pair of club-level bars, each with a capacity of about 1,500 to further ease the main concourse traffic during intermissions.

In addition to a pair of “bistro bars,” on the main level, where people can buy a drink and still see the ice, there will be 1,250 HD TV monitors scattered throughout the building.

“That’s something that sets a new standard,” said Black. “It allows us to ensure that our fans are always in touch with the event virtually no matter where they are in the building.

“We’ve always been focused on making sure every fan in the building had a great fan experience. This is all about creating those “I was there” moments that will resonate with people.”

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